Battle of Barnet

The Battle of Barnet was fought on 14 April 1471 during the Wars of the Roses. The Yorkist army of King Edward IV of England crushed the army of the rebellious Lancastrian nobleman Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, slaying the treacherous Warwick in battle. The final Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury in May 1471 marked the end of King Henry VI of England's reign and the return of the House of York to power.

Background
The defeat of the rebel Yorkist faction at the Battle of Losecoat Field in 1470 forced Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick to flee to France, where King Louis XI of France reconciled him with the exiled Lancastrian leader Queen Margaret of Anjou. Using French support, Warwick planned to restore the recovering Henry VI to his throne, and, in September 1470, he landed in Devon. King Edward initially planned to march against him, but Neville's brother John Neville, Marquess of Montagu - who had previously been loyal to the King - rallied to his brother's cause. Edward was forced to leave England, and, in October, Henry was restored to the throne.

Edward IV found refuge in Flanders, which was owned by his ally, Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy. In March 1471, Edward returned to England, claiming that he was not aiming to return to the throne, but instead to reclaim the Duchy of York. The city of York allowed Edward to enter, and he soon began his march on London, gathering Yorkist forces along the way; even his disloyal brother George, Duke of Clarence rejoined him. Warwick and his army avoided battle, believing that he would receive French aid and that Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset would defend the capital. However, the Londoners preferred Edward, and Somerset was forced to leave the city to await Queen Margaret's arrival at Dorset. Edward took control of London and captured Henry VI yet again, and he and his 15,000-strong army prepared to confront Warwick's 20,000+ troops. Rather than wait for Lancastrian reinforcements to join Warwick, Edward marched to battle Warwick's forces at Barnet, north of London, on 13 April.

Battle
The Yorkist army, confused by the darkness, accidentally drew up their battle line closer to the Lancastrians than anticipated, but this allowed for the Yorkist army to escape artillery bombardment by the Lancastrians, whose cannon overshot their targets. Edward deployed William of Hastings on the left flank and his 18-year-old brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester on the right, while he and George, Duke of Clarence commanded the center. Opposite them, the Nevilles commanded the Lancastrian center, while the Duke of Exeter led the left flank and the Earl of Oxford led the right. As the morning of 14 April 1471 dawned, mist set in on the battlefield. The Lancastrian right flank under Oxford pushed back Hastings' left flank, killing many of them during the retreat, while others fled to London, claiming that Edward had already lost the battle. However, a big part of Oxford's unit remained behind to loot their fallen enemies, and only part of the Lancastrian force returned to the battle; neither side knew of what had happened. Meanwhile, Oxford flanked Exeter's Lancastrian left flank and pushed them back, shifting the lines yet again. Warwick, aware of this, ordered his reserves to support Exeter and restore the formation while Warwick attacked the Yorkist center. The remainder of Oxford's troops returned to the battle, ending up behind John Neville's reserves. Oxford's starry coat of arms was mistaken for Edward's sun banner, and Neville's archers accidentally fired on Oxford's troops, who cried "treason" and fled. The Lancastrian line was panicked and fell into disarray, and, at this point, the fog started to dissipate and Edward sent in his reserves to outflank the Lancastrians from the right. Soon, Warwick and Neville were killed, while Exeter was captured. Between 5,000 and 10,000 Lancastrians and just 1,000 Yorkists were dead.

Aftermath
Unfortunately for King Edward IV, while the Battle of Barnet was raging, Queen Margaret and her son Edward, Prince of Wales landed in Dorset and were greeted by Somerset. Edward returned to London after dismissing his army, only to learn of Margaret's arrival. Margaret and her army marched for Wales to meet up with her ally Jasper Tudor, and, as Margaret and her army marched towards Bristol, Edward marched to Cirencester and attempted to intercept the Lancastrians before they could cross the River Severn. The Yorkists of Gloucester refused to let Margaret pass, and her army was forced to ford the river farther north at Tewksbury, leading to a decisive battle with the Yorkists.